Snapchat protesters 'ain't afraid of no ghost'

A lot of people on Wall Street were very happy with Snapchat Thursday, but a lot of people in Venice were not.

At least two dozen protesters gathered outside Snap Inc.’s Venice Beach, California headquarters to protest Snap’s encroachment on the neighborhood as Snap started trading on Wall Street. Protesters worried Snap’s multi-billion-dollar success in its initial public offering, or IPO, would encourage more companies to move from Silicon Valley to the emerging Silicon Beach.

Snap moved to Venice in 2013 and since then has bought up real estate for its offices: one house, one apartment building and former retail stores.

“Streets that were alive with neighborhood and food and drink are now just locked front doors with security guards who are shooing the exact same people who lived in the neighborhood away,” neighborhood barber Dave Martinez told BuzzFeed Newsin February. Protests began in the days before Snap’s IPO.

The protesters said that Snap is “killing Venice” and that even DJ Khaled wouldn’t approve.

People are in front of Snapchat’s Venice, CA headquarters, protesting the company’s community impact and urging others to not invest in it. pic.twitter.com/KuBU35mHW5